ID :
43431
Fri, 01/30/2009 - 21:37
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/43431
The shortlink copeid
Japanese industrial output logs record 9.6% fall in Dec.+
TOKYO, Jan. 30 Kyodo - Japanese industrial production dropped a seasonally adjusted 9.6 percent in December from the previous month, posting a record fall for the second straight month, as the deepening global economic slump sapped demand for cars, electronics and many of Japan's other main exports, the government said Friday.
The slump is likely to continue for some time. The Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry, which released a preliminary report, painted a gloomy outlook for
the coming months as many manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony
Corp., have been scaling back their output at a fast pace.
The ministry said output from manufacturers is expected to decline 9.1 percent
in January and contract 4.7 percent further in February.
''The results could be worse than these projections as many makers are finding
it difficult to foresee what is to come next in today's rapidly changing
environment,'' an industry ministry official said.
''Very difficult circumstances will continue,'' said Etsuko Yamashita, chief
economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. ''Japanese companies are
accelerating their output adjustments, but there has been no tangible progress
in cutting their inventories.''
Yamashita noted the trend will most likely lead to further job cuts.
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said he is ''very worried'' as
the December headline reading suffered its steepest fall since February 1953,
when comparable figures first became available.
The reading, which followed a revised 8.5 percent fall in November, compares
with a decline of 9 percent forecast on average by economists surveyed by Kyodo
News.
Output in all surveyed industries decreased for the first time since 1998, with
the transport equipment sector, which has a heavy influence on the reading,
plummeting 12.1 percent from the previous month.
Also feeling the pain of the global economic slowdown, electronic parts and
device production registered a dive of 18.8 percent.
The index of output at mines and factories stood at 84.6 against the base of
100 for 2005, the report said.
The index of industrial shipments fell 8 percent to 86.0 and, despite a sharp
cut in output, that of industrial inventories expanded 0.1 percent to 110.05,
the report said.
The inventory index is the highest since September 2001.
In 2008, Japanese factory output dropped an unadjusted 3.4 percent from the
previous year. The annual index declined for the first time in six years.
Last year's production plunged by the most since 2001, when it marked a drop of
6.8 percent.
In the October-December period, output dropped 11.9 percent from the previous
quarter, experiencing a fourth straight quarterly shrinkage for the first time
since 2001.
The ministry said production of Japanese manufacturers is ''rapidly
declining,'' maintaining the previous month's overall assessment.
Industry minister Toshihiro Nikai said that ''unimaginable things are occurring
one after another,'' when asked to evaluate the current economic situation.
==Kyodo
2009-01-30 22:56:20
The slump is likely to continue for some time. The Ministry of Economy, Trade
and Industry, which released a preliminary report, painted a gloomy outlook for
the coming months as many manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony
Corp., have been scaling back their output at a fast pace.
The ministry said output from manufacturers is expected to decline 9.1 percent
in January and contract 4.7 percent further in February.
''The results could be worse than these projections as many makers are finding
it difficult to foresee what is to come next in today's rapidly changing
environment,'' an industry ministry official said.
''Very difficult circumstances will continue,'' said Etsuko Yamashita, chief
economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. ''Japanese companies are
accelerating their output adjustments, but there has been no tangible progress
in cutting their inventories.''
Yamashita noted the trend will most likely lead to further job cuts.
Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano said he is ''very worried'' as
the December headline reading suffered its steepest fall since February 1953,
when comparable figures first became available.
The reading, which followed a revised 8.5 percent fall in November, compares
with a decline of 9 percent forecast on average by economists surveyed by Kyodo
News.
Output in all surveyed industries decreased for the first time since 1998, with
the transport equipment sector, which has a heavy influence on the reading,
plummeting 12.1 percent from the previous month.
Also feeling the pain of the global economic slowdown, electronic parts and
device production registered a dive of 18.8 percent.
The index of output at mines and factories stood at 84.6 against the base of
100 for 2005, the report said.
The index of industrial shipments fell 8 percent to 86.0 and, despite a sharp
cut in output, that of industrial inventories expanded 0.1 percent to 110.05,
the report said.
The inventory index is the highest since September 2001.
In 2008, Japanese factory output dropped an unadjusted 3.4 percent from the
previous year. The annual index declined for the first time in six years.
Last year's production plunged by the most since 2001, when it marked a drop of
6.8 percent.
In the October-December period, output dropped 11.9 percent from the previous
quarter, experiencing a fourth straight quarterly shrinkage for the first time
since 2001.
The ministry said production of Japanese manufacturers is ''rapidly
declining,'' maintaining the previous month's overall assessment.
Industry minister Toshihiro Nikai said that ''unimaginable things are occurring
one after another,'' when asked to evaluate the current economic situation.
==Kyodo
2009-01-30 22:56:20
